'Guns to butter' for a Better Future

There are many ideas towards a plan for world peace and development. See 'More' below.

I summarized two proposals posted in March 2021 which I believe are fresh, feasible and authentic regarding converting 'guns to butter' for a better future.

1.  Close all USA military bases

The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft (QI), has been brave enough to tell the world that some 750 US military bases around the world appear to have little or no usefulness in keeping the country safe and prosperous. 

In a one-hour webinar 'Taps for America's Empire of Bases?', QI president Andrew Bacevich moderated David Vine, Christine Ahn, and John Glaser.

These 3 experts agreed:

• There are NO exaggerated threats to the USA from the Middle East and elsewhere.
• The greatest threat to peace is the military-industrial complex.
• All bases abroad should be closed and the troops sent home. Open Letter to President Biden, March 4, 2021.
• Funding for peace diplomacy and domestic infrastructure (health care, transportation, education, clean water, housing, etc.) should be greatly increased.

The Quincy Institute is a new US 'think tank' founded in December 2019. It is 'the most truthful and daring of the dozens of these entities that exist in the Washington DC area', according to Sharon Tennison, Founder and Director of Center for Citizen Initiatives, in a March 11th letter to its members.

2.  Putin's 'open system'

Matthew Ehret, Senior Fellow at the American University in Moscow and editor-in-chief of the Canadian Patriot Review explains global 'win-win cooperation' for the future in 'Putin's Vision for an Anti-Fascist/ Open System Future and You' (The Canadian Patriot, March 10, 2021).

Ehret reports that President Putin speaks about an 'open system' of international behaviour that would avoid wars and instead would focus on cooperative efforts of multi world nations for joint security and development, such as the following:

• Space diplomacy among Russia, USA, and China. Increase working together to explore space.
• Asteroid defense. Implement a proposal by the Chief of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin, nick named the 'Strategic Defense of Earth'. by aiming US President Reagan's 'Star Wars' Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) away from targets on earth to aim for incoming meteors and asteroids.
• Arctic and Far East Development. By further expanding the 'Silk Road' on rails as proposed 150 years ago, but from South America, north across the Bering Strait, to Europe. Ships are now crossing the thawed Arctic Circle. Development of new cities, mining, transport corridors and energy benefits all nations connected.
• 'Guns to butter' in an 'open system' world. If all nations cooperate to divert military spending to social needs, poverty can end and global warming stopped.

Ehret concludes: 'If Russia, America, China and other nations of the UN Security Council and BRICS were to apply their best minds to solving these problems rather than fall into a new arms race, then not only would either country benefit immensely, but so too would humanity more broadly.' Agreed! Let's hope it becomes a reality.

This means that we all need to look inward and have the moral courage to make this happen. Peace starts with us. Yes, 'Guns to butter' for a better future!

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More

Peace Quest, Rideau Institute, World Federalists. Webinar: 'Peace Prospects in the Biden Era (Thursday, April 1, 2021, 6:30 PM ET). — Free webinar on Zoom. Featuring Douglas Roche.

Canadian Foreign Policy Institute and World Beyond War Canada. Free webinar on Zoom: 'Why Canada Should Leave NATO'. Saturday, April 3, 2021, 3 PM ET. — Free webinar on Zoom.

New Hampshire Peace Action. 'Peace & Justice Conversations:Is Russia truly our enemy? Should we risk nuclear war?' April 12, 2021, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm ET. — Free webinar on Zoom.

Escobar, Pepe. Welcome to shocked & awed 21st century geopolitics. In Information Clearing House, March 23, 2021.

Fry, Stephen. The Terrifying $1.2 Trillion Plan That Could Kill 90% of Humanity, March 16, 2021. YouTube, 11.16 minutes.

O’Connor, Taylor. 10 Global Peacebuilding Networks. In Transcend Media Service, March 15, 2021. [We can add to this list many others, such as: Center for Global Nonkilling, World Beyond War, Project Ploughshares, Center for Citizen Initiatives, Coalition to Oppose Arms Trade, Voice of Women for Peace, and PeaceQuest. For alternative news sources see Honest World News.]

Zuesse, Eric. Why It’s Especially Necessary to End NATO Now. In Modern Diplomacy, March 15, 2021.

Benjamin, Medea and Nicolas J.S. Davies. Biden’s Foreign Policy — Ten Problems, One Solution. In The Progressive, March 13, 2021.

Healy, Hazel. 10 Steps to World Peace. In New Internationalist, September 18, 2018.

Glaser, John. 'Withdrawing from Overseas Bases: Why a Forward ‐ Deployed Military Posture Is Unnecessary, Outdated, and Dangerous'. Cato Institute, Policy Analysis No. 816, July 18, 2017.

United Nations. Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs. Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Adopted September 25, 2015. Preamble: This Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom….The 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets which we are announcing today demonstrate the scale and ambition of this new universal Agenda….'

World Beyond War.org. A global movement to end all wars.

Center for Global Nonkilling. Promoting change toward the measurable goal of a killing-free world.

Updates

Sahiounie,  Steven.  US-NATO provocation in Ukraine to stop Russian pipeline.  The Duran, April 7, 2021.

Paul, Ron. Why Is the Biden Administration Pushing Ukraine to Attack Russia? OpEdNews Op Eds, April 5, 2021. 

Lavelle, Peter, CrossTalk, RT, April 2021. The End of Ukraine? YouTube, 25 minutes. — Lavelle hosts three panelists: Mary Dejevsky,  Independent columnist, London; Earl Rasmussen, Executive Vice-President, The Eurasia Centre, Washington, DC; and Gabriel Gavin, journalist, policy consultant, Moscow, Russia.

Baldwin, Natylie. The Situation in the Donbass, In Natylie's Place: Understanding Russia, April 3, 2021. — The situation in the Ukraine is extremely dangerous. Heavily armed Ukrainian soldiers with USA weapons are threatening the Russian Republic, as Russian soldiers stand by ready to respond if attacked.

Tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Tōrō nagashi — floating paper lanterns — began August 6, 1947. It was copied from the traditional August Buddhist Obon festival as a consolation to the souls of the millions of Japanese citizens who perished during World War II. 

Photo by Brent Patterson.

Due to my caution about CoVid-19 at my age, I chose to not attend this year’s annual 1945 A-bombing of Japan Memorial, hosted in Ottawa by the Society of Friends. I only missed 2 since 2009. About 60 people attended.

Photo by Brent Patterson.

This year the event was held at a pond along the Rideau Canal Western Pathway, a few meters east of Queen Elizabeth Parkway, at Third Ave, a few meters north of the new Flora Footbridge that crosses the Rideau Canal. (Google map) 

The proposed footbridge with labels added and red arrow pointing to location of
the Tōrō nagashi ceremony (Image from: Support Flora Footbridge, Facebook) 

It has been 75 years since the atomic bomb was dropped by the USA on Hiroshima, followed three days later with another one on Nagasaki, resulting in over 200,000 instant deaths and many more injured and dying.

In Special coverage: Hiroshima & Nagasaki at 75, The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, warns us that we are all living in a ‘particularly dangerous period of our nuclear age’. Civilization is at stake. Time left in January 2020 : 100 seconds to midnight.

Though there are many fine books and articles for this 75th year milestone, I don’t find convincing evidence for preventing nuclear war. Concerned citizens and world leaders need to stand up and prevent a world holocaust that would take us back to the Stone Age. These are just 6 items online that reflect my thinking:

Robert Freeman. 75 Years On: Reflections and Preflections on Hiroshima. Common Dreams, August 7, 2020. — ‘We cannot change what happened, neither the heinous military nor the tragic moral stains that indelibly mark its occurrence. But we can transcend it, rise above it, by naming it, acknowledging it, repudiating it, and committing ourselves to a greater expression of the people and society we imagine and hope ourselves to be. It is the only option for a sane, safe, and civilized future.’

PBS. 75 years after Hiroshima, should the U.S. president have the authority to launch a nuclear attack?, (USA Public television), August 5, 2020. — No U.S. President should have absolute authority to initiate a nuclear attack. Too many were mentally impaired while in office. William Parry, former Secretary of State, concluded: ‘Ronald Reagan and Gorbachev said it best, which is, a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.’

Helen Caldicott. The Lessons We Haven’t Learned. The Progressive, August 3, 2020. — ‘... make friends with ... all nations and reinvest the trillions of dollars spent on war, killing, and death, saving the ... world with renewable energy including solar, wind, and geothermal, and planting trillions of trees. ... free medical care for all U.S. citizens, along with free education, housing for the homeless, and care for those with mental illness.’

Gary G. Kohls, MD. Why Americans Believe That Bombing Hiroshima Was Necessary. LewRockwell, August 1, 2015. — The American government was ‘... fully aware of Japan’s search for ways to honorably surrender months before Truman gave the fateful order to incinerate Hiroshima. Japan was working on peace negotiations through its ambassador in Moscow as early as April of 1945, with surrender feelers from Japan occurring as far back as 1944. ... all of Japan’s military and diplomatic messages were being intercepted. On July 13, 1945, Foreign Minister Togo wrote: “Unconditional surrender ... is the only obstacle to peace.” …(BUT) … ‘profiteers … Wall Street, the Pentagon, the weapons industries and their lapdogs in Congress … (did) … what is profitable or advantageous for our over-privileged, over-consumptive, toxic and unsustainable American way of life, …’

Amy Goodman and David Goodman. Atomic Bombing at 75: Hiroshima Cover-up -- How Timesman Won a Pulitzer While on War Dept. Payroll. Consortium News, August 4, 2020. Enhanced from: Hiroshima Cover-up: How the War Department's Timesman Won a Pulitzer, Common Dreams, August 10, 2004 — By boldly disobeying US military orders and censors, Australian journalist Wilfred Burchett was the first western reporter to get to Hiroshima, 30 days after the bomb, and have an uncensored eye-witness report published about an ‘atomic plague’. Burchett was extensively bullied by US agents. To negate the story, the US War Department used their hired propagandist, William L. Laurence, the Pulitzer Prize-winning science reporter for The New York Times, to deny massive deaths from radiation. ‘“Atomic Bill” Laurence revered atomic weapons.’ In 2003 the Times discussed removing a 1932 Pulitzer awarded to their Moscow bureau chief (1922–1936) Walter Duranty, but did not. This prompted the authors to recommend that Laurence’s prize be ‘stripped’.

Setsuko Thurlow. Hiroshima survivor, anti-bomb activist, and 2017 Nobel Prize winner living in Toronto, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on June 22, 2020, urging him to ‘acknowledge Canada’s involvement in and contributions to the two atomic bombings and issue a statement of regret on behalf of the Canadian Government for the immense deaths and suffering caused by the atom bombs that utterly destroyed two Japanese cities.’ She also urged him to sign the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

My Conclusion

Prevention. Prevention. Prevention of nuclear war is the key to world survival. Atomic wars must never be fought. Hiroshima and Nagasaki warn us of the danger if we do not act urgently and sensibly to prohibit atomic weapons development and wars.

I was 13 years old in 1945. I got the censored news on radio and newsreels at cinema. Let’s give hope to our children and grandchildren and everyone else that atomic wars must never take place, and that wars be banned as criminal behaviour.

I want an international War Prohibition Treaty! — like the 1920 League of Nations, the 1928 General Treaty for Renunciation of War as an Instrument of National Policy,  the 1933 Anti-war Treaty of Non-aggression and Conciliation, and the 2017 United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Every country should have a well-funded Department of Peace and a nonkilling foreign and domestic policy.

See all my reports since 2009: 1945 A-bombing of Japan Memorials.

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1945 A-bombing of Japan Memorials

List of annual memorials held in Ottawa, Canada, since 2009.

 
The United States detonated two nuclear weapons over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively, with the consent of the United Kingdom, as required by the Quebec Agreement [held August 1943 in Canada].

The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict.' (Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Wikipedia, accessed August 10, 2019.)

Atomic bomb 'mushroom' clouds over Hiroshima (left) and Nagasaki (right)

The annual Ottawa event has been announced with different titles. The most recent iteration beginning in 2022 is: 'Hiroshima & Nagasaki Peace Memorial Lantern Ceremony'. The Japanese term is: Tōrō nagashi.

This is a chronological list of my photo stories documenting the annual memorials held in Ottawa, Canada, since 2009.

• 2009 Aug 2 — Hiroshima and Nagasaki Remembrance, August 2009 (Message to the Hiroshima Day in Castlegar, BC, August 6, 2009)
• 2010 — Missed
• 2011 Aug 6 — Blog: Memorial of 1945 Nuclear Bombing of Japan (3 photos)
• 2012 Aug 17 — Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1 comment)
• 2013 Aug 9 — May the Third Atomic Bomb Never Come  (2 photos)
• 2014 Aug 6 — 69th Anniversary of Atomic Bombings Cries for “Peace!”
• 2015 Aug 9 — Blog: Hijacking Hiroshima and Nagasaki (video animation 'Nuclear Explosions Since 1945', 2 comments translated from Russian)
• 2016 Aug 6 — Blog: No More Hiroshimas, No More Wars! (chart of the build-up of NATO bases, 4 comments)
• 2017 Aug 9 — Hiroshima and Nagasaki Remembered — What are we waiting for? (60 photos, 2 comments)
• 2018 Aug 10 — Dene People and the Atomic Bomb (3 photos, 3 comments)
• 2019 Aug 10 — 74th Anniversary of Hiroshima A-bomb Mass Murder: A gathering in Ottawa, Canada, of concerned people, August 6, 2019 (76 photos, 2 comments)
• 2020 Aug 10 — Blog: Tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (2 photos, map)
• 2021 Aug 6 — Hiroshima Day Commemoration  (64 photos)
• 2022 Aug 13 — Ottawa Commemorates 77th year of Hiroshima Catastrophe (73 photos, 2 comments)
• 2023 Aug 9 — Blog: Nagasaki Commemoration Ottawa (62 photos, 2 comments)
• 2024 Aug 9 — Blog: Nuclear Bombs Used 79 Years Ago  (46 photos)
• 2025 Aug 9 — Hiroshima - Nаgasaki 80th Commemoration — Ottawa 2025 (100+ photos in 3 albums)

'Wake up' — Let's Prevent Nuclear War

Why is the threat of WW3 at an all time high?

The Doomsday Clock, maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1947, shows the likelihood of a man-made global catastrophe. During the past 3 decades it has steadily moved to an all time danger. Why? What can we do?

August 6 will be the 74th anniversary of the bloody 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. By educating ourselves about the global politics and propaganda of war, I hope we will prevent WW3 and a nuclear holocaust, by protesting war industries, writing our governments, alerting our family and friends — anything to protect future generations.

The chart (click to enlarge) shows minutes to doom. The lower, the worse. It got worse from the end of WW2 (1945) through the Korean Conflict (1951-1953), then relaxed after the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), and remained fairly steady during the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) decade (1969-1979). Again it got worse, until President Reagan (1981-1989) and Secretary/President Gorbachev of Russia (1985-1991) began peace negotiations, which ended with the breakup of the Soviet Union (1991). Since then, for nearly 3 decades, threats have steadily escalated to an all time closeness to doomsday.

How did this nearly 30-year decline happen? Evidence points to the expansion of NATO and the USA foreign policy of perpetuating wars.

I believe that Russia is not our enemy, we are. To explain, I recommend three videos online. The first is in English, and two are in Russian on YouTube.

1. The Putin Interviews : Vladimir Putin & Oliver Stone Discuss NATO, by Oliver Stone, Information Clearing House, July 22, 2019 — Many short videos with English subtitles, and text.

2. В Борьбе за Украину. Нерассказанnая История Украины;(2019) [The Struggle for Ukraine. (or) The Untold Story of Ukraine]. (Russian: 83 minutes), by Oliver Stone. (Wikipedia Russian) — The film shows how the USA and the West were directly involved in the 2014 Maidan coup in Ukraine. Snipers killed 100+ people to entice Ukraine and Western countries to blame Russia and President Putin. A tragic flop! Due to NATO circling Russia, the film concludes a higher probability of a nuclear war. Putin and his Ukrainian associate Viktor Medvedchuk are interviewed, and Professor of Political Science at the University of Ottawa, Ivan Kachanovsky, who for five years has been investigating this story.

3. Голливуд как источник мужество [Hollywood as source of manhood], Бесогон ТВ (Besogon TV), Channel 24. (Russian, 55 minutes). — Explains how Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin sold out the USSR to the West on the promise that the West was ready to help the Russians, instead the USA wanted to destroy Russia. While the USSR disarmed and became ‘pacifist’, USA did not. USA propaganda claimed to spread ‘freedom and democracy’ but murdered tens of thousands, fooling most Americans to believe they were ‘victims’ of the uncivilized ‘them’ — like heroes in a Hollywood movie. On March 1st, 2018, Putin was reelected President of the Russian Federation, with a majority 77% of the votes. Due to the broken promise, on that day Putin announced the development of superior atomic weapons, so as to wake the sleeping world up to what is happening today. Narrator Nikita Mikhalkov shows that Hollywood created fictional heroes who defeat 'Chinese, Russians, animals', and others in the interests of the American Empire. War is shown, not 'democracy'. In contrast, Putin says the real heroes were those who lost their lives defending their motherland.

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More

• Stephanie Savell and 5W Infographics. 'This Map Shows Where in the World the U.S. Military Is Combatting Terrorism', Smithsonian Magazine, January 2019. — The infographic reveals for the first time that the USA is now operating in 40 percent of the world’s nations.
• Elaine Scarry and Rachel Ablow. 'Sleeping Through the Alarm'. Boston Review, 24 July 2019. 'With virtually no democratic oversight and over 6,500 missiles in the United States alone, the use of nuclear weapons is almost inevitable. So why is it so hard to think about nuclear war?'
• Paul Craig Roberts. 'America's Collapse: An Economy Based on Plunder', Information Clearing House, August 1, 2019. The long history of American capitalism fed by plunder seems to be coming to an end.
• Fred Weir. 'Trust deficit: The roots of Russia's standoff with the West', Christian Science Monitor, April 29, 2020.
• I have written many times about the threat of war and how to achieve nonkilling world peace, and will continue to write.

Q82 — Does Our Civilization Have a Future?

From a Russian scholar, Moscow, Russian Federation.

Дорогой Кузьма!
Вот и еще один год прошел, пролетел, подхваченный ветром времён. И наступает новый 2019 год - таинственный и немного страшный, потому что жить в этом мире становится всё страшнее и страшнее. Ощущение приближающейся 3 Мировой войны становится всё более явственным. Мне кажется, что мы все никогда не были от нее так близко. Это ощущение постоянно рождает в голове мысль: а надо ли вообще что-то делать, к чему-то стремиться и чего-то добиваться, если все в один момент может исчезнуть, и тогда ничего и никому будет уже не нужно. На меня эта мысль действует очень плохо, хотя вопреки ей я стараюсь продолжать работать.

My Translation:

Dear Koozma!
So another year has passed, it flew by, caught up by the wind of times. And the new year 2019 is coming — mysterious and a bit scary, because living in this world is getting more and more dangerous. The feeling of the approaching World War 3 is becoming more pronounced. It seems to me that we have never been so close to this. This feeling constantly gives birth to the idea: is it necessary to do something at all, to strive for something and to achieve something, if everything can disappear in one moment and then nothing will be necessary for anyone. This thought has a very bad effect on me, although in spite of it I try to keep working.

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In 2019, The Doomsday Clock reaffirmed
the "two minutes to midnight" time.

Koozma’s Answer

I agree and have extensively written about our future (list below).

A similar view was expressed in (‘We’re Headed To War With Russia, and No One Seems to Care’, Russia Insider, March 26, 2018).

How can I give hope and optimism to my Russian friend in 2019 when The Doomsday Clock by concerned scientists warn us of eminent danger of nuclear weapons to our civilization, when many politicians continue to rely on NATO to protect their empires, and when the US threatens world peace with its rage for endless wars? With the New Cold War in process, fueled by the military industrial complex and elites drunk with making money from the killing field, what hope can we provide to ensure a real future for humanity? Let’s remember that the former Soviet Union lost over 27 million citizens in fighting the Nazi invaders. We need to respect Russia because it won the war at great cost to protect our world from destruction.

We all need to Wake Up, Become Educated and Act Humanly to save our beautiful world from catastrophe.

2018 October 13 — World Beyond War Conference 2018, Toronto, Ontario, September 21-22.
2018 May 9 — Celebrating a World Without Wars : Russian Victory Day
2018 April 4 — Issues for the World Peace Forum
2018 March 17 — Peace Networking with Professor Beissel
2017 November 13 — Remember peace and nuclear disarmament on ‘Remembrance Day’
2017 August 9 — Hiroshima and Nagasaki Remembered — What are we waiting for?
2017 May-August — What I Have Learned From Peace Activism in the World

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See all Questions and Answers.

World Beyond War Conference 2018

Toronto, Ontario September 21 - 22, 2018.

Brief report from Greta Zarro, Organizing Director of World Beyond War:

• #NoWar2018 was a huge success.
• More than 200 attended.
• See the conference on our video channel — youtube.com/worldbeyondwar
• The theme of replacing war with the rule of law was well explored by activists and experts who formed new alliances, strategic plans for future work on education, closing bases, and divestment, and developed possible ideas for creative actions.
• Our small budget and 3 half-time staff impressed several who thought we were a large well funded organization. Please donate.
• Patricia Kambitsch of Playthink did some amazing illustrations to capture the vibe of the conference plenaries. See her work and more in our Facebook photo album.
• Website updates will be posted as time permits.

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Koozma J. Tarasoff’s Comments

On June 24 2018, I posted: Suggestions for 'World Beyond War' Conference in Toronto Sept. 21 - 22, 2018.

After watching the conference video Highlights of #NoWar2018, here are some of my quick impressions, questions and answers:

• How can we persuade the world powers to get rid of nuclear weapons? Today the stockpile of nuclear weapons is 14,575. They are a serious threat to our civilization. Making money from killing is evil!
• Canadian military heads are not too interested in peace because they look to the USA as a favourite country with their many dangerous toys of war. (William Geimer).
• Canada’s Foreign Affairs Dept. claims it needs ‘hard power’ instead of peacekeeping resulting in increasing the military budget to $22 billion, the highest ever. Only 173 Canadian soldiers are in peacekeeping today. And we have Canadian soldiers in Latvia, Lithuania and Poland provoking Russia. (Tamara Lorincz).
• Many or most soldiers returning home from the field suffer Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. War is evil. Let’s stop it and begin the process of living as civilized homo sapiens.
• We are facing nuclear war, dying oceans, decaying cities, water shortage, growth inequality, etc., all adding to a breakdown of civil society. We need peace urgently so that we can work together to deal with the looming ecological global crisis. (Kent Shifferd).
• We need to find alternatives to war with compulsory international mechanisms for nonviolent dispute resolution. (James Ranney).
• Departments and other infrastructures for peace to promote legal frameworks for conflict resolution by peaceful means at home and abroad. (Saul Arbess).
• Misinformation technologies are challenging the role of diplomacy in society. We need to persuade FaceBook to be accountable for its actions. (Branka Marijan).
• The United Nations charter states that war is illegal, ‘with exceptions’. But the 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact had no exceptions; it was an international agreement in which signator states promised not to use war ‘to resolve disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they might be, which may arise among them’. (David Swanson).
• Humans have the ability to choose not to go to war. We can, for example, create Departments of Peace in our governments. Where there is a will, there is a way. (Karen Johnson).
• Americans have over 1.3 million military personnel in about 5,000 bases around the world requiring a $610 billion budget to service them. Yet only 5% of this budget ($30 billion) could solve starvation in our world. Where is our wisdom?
• Peace education should apply to all levels in our education system, beginning with Grade one. Peace is everybody's business. (Rose).
• There is a nationalist myth that Canada is a peaceful country that does not believe in wars. Advancing empire support and businesses abroad contradict this myth. (Yves Engler).
• Colonial domination of indigenous peoples was an act of genocide and war. (Azeezah Kanji).
• Mass movements win, while fringe movements don’t. We need to mobilize minorities for national consensus by resisting wars and building peace. (Kevin Zeese).

Suggestions for 'World Beyond War' Conference in Toronto Sept. 21 - 22, 2018

The forthcoming peace conference in Toronto, Canada in September 2018 appears like the ultimate in world peace conferences. Its organizer is David Swanson, founder and Director of World BEYOND War.

The confirmed speakers are impressive, including retired Canadian anthropologist Dr. Saul Arbess, who is currently the Director of the Canadian Peace Initiative (formerly known as the Canadian Dept. of Peace Initiative) that I have been associated with since its birth in 2006.

The conference shows much promise, and these additions would make it more effective.

The Doukhobors should be included under 'War Abolishers' (right column). In 1895, 7,000 Russian pacifists in Russia burned their guns — a public declaration to the world that violence and wars are wrong and that non killing is the way of the future. As a Doukhobor, I have been taught that it is wrong to kill another human being because there is a spark of god/love/beauty in each of us, and war is a crime.

At least three speakers from important organizations should be included in the Speaker's List:

• Prof. Johan Galtung, Transcend Media Service, a peace journalist for over 65 years. He is founder of Transcend International and rector of Transcend Peace University.
• A representative for The Center for Global Nonkilling founded in 2007 by the late Dr. Glenn D. Paige in Hawaii. Its goal: 'to promote change toward the measurable goal of a killing-free world'.
• Sharon Tennison of The Center For Citizen Initiatives, California, builds bridges of peace through citizen diplomacy between Russia and the USA.

World BEYOND War is a global network of volunteers, activists, and allied organizations advocating for the abolition of the very institution of war. Its success is described as being driven by a people-powered movement. Support their work for a culture of peace. World BEYOND War PO Box 1484 Charlottesville, VA 22902 USA

Peace Billboard in Saskatchewan

Messages from Ed Lehman, President Regina Peace Council, Saskatchewan:

• Photo of our peace billboard, erected May 25, 2018, outside of Qu'Appelle, SK, on the Trans Canada Highway (SK-1), about 55 km (35 miles) east of Regina.
• Unveiling ceremony to be held at the billboard on Saturday June 16 at 2 p.m.
• We paid for the east-facing side for one year, seen by west bound traffic.
• Please forward this news.

Unveiling Ceremony, 16 June 2018

Canada - Act for Peace Not War.

• Sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
• No Participation in Ballistic Missile Defense
• Stop Exporting Weapons of War
• Oppose Regime Change Militarism

Regina Peace Council
in memory of Peter E. Gehl.

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Peter Eric Gehl, 2008

Regina area resident and pacifist Peter Eric Gehl (1952 - 2016) was active in the Regina Peace Council, Regina Peace Quest (co-founder), the Canadian Peace Congress, and Canadians for Peace and Socialism.

PQ Regina Mourns Loss of Peter Gehl, by Ed Lehman, Peace Quest, October 25, 2016.

Lehman wrote: 'The Billboard was done in memory of Peter E. Gehl, a past president of the Regina Peace Council, a national board member of the Canadian Peace Congress, and a co-founder of PeaceQuest Regina. Peter was a life-long worker for peace and social justice.'

When Ed Lehman was asked by phone (June 6) "Why a billboard?", he explained: "To do something different. To get our message to more people. ... To do it more broadly. ... We are normally talking to small groups of people, when when we need to be talking to tens of thousands of people. ... That highway has lots of traffic."

When asked how they chose the message, Lehman said that they deliberated to be as brief as possible, to only post what was important and could be read by a passing vehicle. He added that it was expensive for them, so they paid for only one side, seen by west-bound traffic, for one year from May 25, 2018. They hope to get more exposure during the unveiling on June 16.

Contact Ed Lehman, President Regina Peace Council, 306-718-8010 or edrae1133@gmail.com.

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Media Event on Saturday June 16 at 2 p.m.

To get more press coverage, the Regina Peace Council will host an unveiling ceremony next week, on June 16, 2018, at 2 p.m. on the east side of the billboard. Invite yourself and your friends.

From Regina, SK, take SK-1 east about 55 km (35 miles). U-turn back at Highway 35 (not to Qu'Appelle). Go west on SK-1 about 600 metres. It is the only billboard.

• Billboard location on Google maps. It is just east of the building seen in the photo above.
• Billboard seen on Google Maps Street View. Google images are several years old.

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In the News

'Peace Billboard Unveiled outside of Ou'appelle, Saskatchewan on June 16, 2018', Saskatchewan Peace News, vol. 25, No. 3, Regina Peace Council, 13 September 2018, pages 2-4.

'Regina Peace Council ... put up a billboard ... ', Toronto Association for Peace & Solidarity, Twitter.com, 1 September, 2018.

Scott Neigh, 'The Regina Peace Council - Working to reinvigorate Canada's peace movement', Talking Radical Radio, rabble.com, SK, July 24, 2018 — Article about billboard, and audio podcast (28.5 minutes) interview with Ed Lehman and David Gehl. Billboard history begins at podcast minute 20.

Peace Billboard Celebrated in Saskatchewan, by Ed Lehman, Peace Quest, June 19, 2018 — The peace dove (1961) art was one of several by Pablo Picasso, who was a 1950s promotor of the World Peace Council.

Peace Billboard in Saskatchewan, Spirit-Wrestlers Blog, June 6, 2018.

'Peace Billboard on the Trans Canada Highway', People's Voice, June 1 - 15, 2018, page 11.

Billboard for Peace, Peace Alliance Winnipeg, Saskatchwan, May 27, 2018.

Facebook

• Florence Stratton, May 27, 2018
• PeaceQuestRegina, shared from Florence Stratton
• Toronto Association for Peace and Solidarity, shared from Florence Stratton
• Making Peace Vigil, shared from Florence Stratton

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No More Hiroshimas, No More Wars!

Source: Physicians for Social Responsibility, August 27, 2014.

August 6 and 9 marks the 71st anniversary of the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

Let's learn from the past to prevent a world holocaust by using all of our diplomatic tools.

I feel that former US President J. F. Kennedy and current Russian President Vladimir Putin believe that we share this small planet together, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children’s future, we are all mortal, and we must therefore work together for peace and respect each other’s sphere of influence.

• In 1963, Kennedy established a direct communication link with President Nikita Khrushchev and negotiated a settlement to the missile crisis in Cuba. Had Kennedy succumbed to advice to attack by US military leaders, I doubt that we would be here today.
• In 2008, Russia did not annex Georgia when Georgian president Saakashvili recklessly attacked South Ossetia, violating cease fire agreements and killing Russian citizens. Russia neutralized the Georgian army, then retreated to its bases.
• In 2014, Russia did not invade Ukraine and seize Kiev when Washington installed a hostile regime in the Ukraine. Instead, Putin secured Sevastopol against the US fleet, protecting the presence of Russian speakers. A legal nonviolent referendum in the Crimea followed and was supported by 93% to join Russia.
• In November 2015 when Turkey shot down a Russian plane, Russia did not counter attack. Instead it diplomatically humiliated and isolated Turkey. I think Russia prevented a nuclear war.

I believe that the current situation of 28 NATO members encroaching on Russia is as dangerous today as missiles were in Cuba in 1963 when the world feared the beginning of WW3.

Source: Munich Security Report 2016, "Boundless Crises,
Spoilers, Helpless Guardians," Munich Security Conference, page 25

The chart shows how the build-up of NATO bases with missiles encircling Russia provokes a protective response from the Russians. The situation resembles the time when Hitler's fascist forces were threatening USSR, resulting in mass mobilization to counter the threat.

I think people in the West are allowing a new Cold War and possibly WW3. Putin warns the West that any aggressive actions of a nuclear kind against Russia will lead to a direct response on the USA.

NATO Wants WW3 ?

Is anyone in the West listening to the threat of a nuclear war and the direct role of NATO in it? I find no news in any major North American media. US radio and TV talk show host Alex Jones asks why America is literally asleep on this issue.

Let’s take heed of the wisdom of presidents Kennedy and Putin and save our civilization from the catastrophe of a nuclear holocaust and stop WW 3. With the coming of the 71st anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, let’s recall that madness and make every effort to prevent it today worldwide.

Commemorate August 6th and 9th, 2016 atomic bombings with a resolve:
NO MORE HIROSHIMAS, NO MORE WARS!

• Actively search for nonkilling structures for peace and install them in our regional and national programs.
• Let’s work to ban nuclear weapons, as have Mayors for Peace, which represent 7,095 cities around the world (105 in Canada).
• As concerned world citizens we should circulate a petition banning NATO.
• People, are you listening?

See all my reports since 2009: 1945 A-bombing of Japan Memorials.

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More

1. Kohls, Gary G. 'Christianity and the Nagasaki Bomb'. Information Clearing House, August 11, 2016. 
2. Bruce Kidd, James Orbinski, Landon Pearson, Setsuko Thurlow, and Jean Vanier. ‘Let’s Work to Ban the Bomb.’ Ottawa Citizen, August 5, 2016. page A11.
3. Cunningham, Finian. ‘Britain’s Incorrigible Warmongering Towards Russia.’ Information Clearing House, July 31, 2016.
4. Clifford, Joe. ‘Corporate Media and Neocon Propaganda Will Get Millions Killed.’ Information Clearing House, July 31, 2016.
5. Lvov, Petr. ‘Saudi Arabia is Setting a Trap for Moscow Yet Again.’ Information Clearing House, July 30, 2016.
6. Hallian, Conn. ‘We May Be at a Greater Risk of Nuclear Catastrphe Than During the Cold War.’ Information Clearing House, July 23, 2016.
7. ‘Putin Issues Desperate Warning of WWIII.’ (video, 8:06 min), Alex Jones radio show, InforWars.com, July 7, 2016.
8. Hudson, Michael. ‘US-NATO Border Confrontation with Russia Risks Nuclear War.’ Information Clearing House, July 19, 2016.
9. Munich Security Report 2016, "Boundless Crises, Reckless Spoilers, Helpless Guardians," Munich Security Conference, page 25
10. Ray, Muon. ‘Michio Kaku - Top Secret Military War Plans.’ YouTube, November 17, 2012. 13:30 minutes.

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69th Anniversary of Atomic Bombings Cries for “Peace!”

The Ottawa Society of Friends commemorated the 69th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th, 2014.

Some 20 people attended this annual evening event associated with the Hiroshima Day Coalition — about 15 local Quakers and 5 guests. Two main speakers presented reports from the peace movement.

Monique Cuillerier, Membership and Communications Director of the World Federalist Movement spoke on the ‘David vs Goliath’ lawsuit filed by the Republic of the Marshall Islands in 2 courts (International Court of Justice, Hague; and U.S. Federal Court, San Francisco) against 9 nations for violation of Article VI of the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The little islands are challenging the U.S., U.K., Russia, China, France, Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea. I urge you all to support the Marshall Islands in their courageous effort. Learn more at NuclearZero.org.

Bill Bhaneja read 'Message on the 69th Anniversaries of the Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,' by David Krieger, President and founder of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

Dr. Krieger wrote about Sadako Sasaki, a girl who survived the Hiroshima atomic bomb but died 10 years later from leukemia at age 12. Her story about making 1000 origami paper cranes for a good luck wish has become a peace legend spread by her classmates, and memorialized around the world with monuments, books, articles, and videos (movie, documentary, cartoon).

Though Sadako Sasaki is lesser known and promoted than Anne Frank, her story is simpler and relates directly to nuclear war. Do not forget her or the hope symbolized by her paper cranes.

Our annual ritual of walking to the Rideau River and floating candle-lit lanterns was aborted due to rain and wind. We returned home with renewed resolve to stop nuclear madness.

More

• Hiroshima Day Coalition : Across Canada Events, Ottawa ON
• Amy Goodman. Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 69 Years Later. TruthDig. Aug. 7, 2014.
• Noam Chomsky. ‘How many minutes to midnight? Hiroshima Day 2014,’ in TomGram: Why National Security Has Nothing to Do With Security, TomDispatch.com, Aug. 5, 2014.

Previous Articles and Photos

• 2013 August 10 — May the Third Atomic Bomb Never Come
• 2012 August 17 — Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• 2011 August 8 — Memorial of 1945 Nuclear Bombing of Japan (Photo album)
• 2009 August 6 — Photo Album by Physicians for Global Survival, Ottawa.
• 2009 August 3 — Hiroshima and Nagasaki Remembrance August 2009
  (Message to the Hiroshima Day in Castlegar, BC, August 6, 2009)